Love Lessons of the Sea
by Scarlet Eve
Summary: One-Shot. "Dark hair and a dark coat snapped around in the wind. She strained her eyes to see through the haze of the settling storm, but she still couldn't make out the face. Yet, she felt no fear. This was not someone to be feared. "


Love Lessons of the Sea

The sound of the waves crashing on the sandy beach filled the air. Every once in a while, a seagull's screech would break through the sound of the waves. In the distance, dark clouds were gathering, moving quickly along the coast, bringing the wind and rain along with them. The clouds had blocked out most of the setting sun, but a few persistent rays continued to shine through the storm clouds. In the distant, thunder rumbled.

Relena leaned against the railing of her balcony, looking out at the sea. The wind was blowing her hair around her shoulders and making her skirt flutter gently. She let out a deep breath and rested her chin in her hand. _What am I still doing up here?_ she asked herself. She turned away from the beautiful scene before her and went back into her office and shut the doors. The papers on the desk called to her, but she ignored them. She swept out of the room and flew down the stairs and out the back door, forgetting about a coat or even shoes.

The smell of the sea was all around her. The salty air kissed her cheeks. She smiled and followed the sandy path that led from her house to the beach. She loved the feeling of the sand between her toes. When she reached the beach, she broke into a stumbling run through the sand to the place where the waves washed up on the shore. She stepped out into the water until it was halfway up her calves. She didn't bother lifting up the hem of her dress, and it didn't take long to be soaked through.

Relena walked for a while, just letting the waves rush up past her legs, then recede back. Occasionally, flashing of lightening and calls of thunder surrounded her, promising a lovely storm. When she saw one, she would pick up a shell or a rock that had been smoothed out by the water and sand.

\/-\/-\/

Heero leaned against his car and looked out at the sea. The wind was blowing, and there were dark clouds on the horizon, bringing in a storm. His long trench coat fluttered around his knees. Something moving along the beach caught his eye. He turned and squinted into the fading light. There was a girl on the beach. Her long blonde hair was waving with the wind.

Heero glanced down the road he'd been driving on. _Of course,_ he thought to himself. The road led to Relena's home. Whenever Heero went for a drive to clear his mind, he always ended up near her house. Many times he'd contemplated stopping to say hi, but always talked himself out of it. He'd circle around at the dead end and drive past again, trying to leave his thoughts of her behind with him. He never succeeded.

Why was he still denying everything? She was always there. Always right there. And yet he always stayed away from her. He couldn't let himself have what he wanted. What about her? What did she want? Heero had convinced himself that he didn't deserve Relena. Whether or not that was true was debatable, as so many had told him before. _Relena doesn't care about status, she cares about you,_ they'd say.

Heero pushed himself away from his car and began to make his way down the sandy hill to the beach. _Why am I doing this?_ a part of him wondered. He knew the answer of course. That was Relena walking on the beach.

\/-\/-\/

Relena stopped walking and looked around. There was someone else on the beach. Whoever it was, he was far enough down that she couldn't see his face. Dark hair and a dark coat snapped around in the wind. She strained her eyes to see through the haze of the settling storm, but she still couldn't make out the face. Yet, she felt no fear. This was not someone to be feared. Smiling to herself, she stepped away from the water and sat down in the sand. She dropped her handful of shells and stones beside her. She continued to watch the clouds rolling ever faster towards her.

It only took a few minutes for the other figure to get close enough for Relena to see who it was. _Heero Yuy_, she thought. The question of why he was out here passed her mind, but she pushed it away. His reason didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here.

Relena stood and began to walk towards him. When they were only a few feet apart, they simply stood and stared at each other.

Heero took her in, from her wet skirt to her windblown hair. And yet, she still managed to take his breath away from him. It was her eyes that would always steal away a part of his soul. He took a deep breath to steady his thumping heart.

"Good evening, Heero," she said, stepping closer.

"Hi, Relena," he replied. Relena reached out and took his hand and nodded her head a ways down the sand where she'd come from. Together, they walked through the sand. Relena eventually stopped and sat down in the sand, pulling him with her. They still had not spoken to one another. As Relena sat next to him, she could smell his cologne, and she thought about how amazing it smelled.

Heero didn't want to let go of her hand, but he forced himself to, and he wrapped his arms around his knees.

"What brings you out here? This isn't exactly an easy place to end up at," Relena said.

"I was just driving. When I saw the storm out at sea, I stopped to watch for a while. Then I saw you walking along the beach," he replied. If Relena wondered why he'd even driven out this far from the city, she didn't voice it. Instead she said,

"Well I'm glad you ended up here." Heero turned to look at her, and she smiled. She picked up a shell she'd found and turned it around in her hands, picking away at dry sand that'd gotten stuck to it.

"What made you come out to the beach in this kind of weather?" Heero asked her, feeling a little foolish about the question and for making idle conversation. It wasn't his style.

"I got bored working. The time before a storm is always so beautiful out here. The air is full of electricity," she replied, tucking the shell into a pocket of her skirt. Heero nodded. "What have you been doing with yourself? I can't remember the last time I saw you," she said.

"Just doing some work with the Preventers. Traveling around the Colonies. Trying to assume the role of a typical citizen of Earth," he said. Relena laughed quietly.

"And how is that going? Bringing yourself down to the level of us lowly humans?"

"Difficult," he replied. Relena nodded her head.

"I see the others from time to time. For a while, they had trouble, too. But slowly they fell into a routine and started to build futures for themselves," Relena said. Heero thought about the call he'd gotten from Duo less than a week ago. The God of Death was submitting himself to love and marrying Hilde.

"I never learned to think about the future. It was always about the present. Thinking too much about the future could get me in trouble," Heero said, his mind drifting back to the days before the Gundams.

"You can't imagine what you'll be doing a year from now?" Relena asked. Heero shook his head.

"I don't even know what I'll be doing a week from now. I suppose I only thought about the present because there was always the chance that I'd get killed. Having a future in that situation would have been pointless," he replied.

"That's sad," Relena said, drawing little designs in the sand with her finger. "You don't still live everyday like you might die, do you?"

"I suppose I do," he said. They fell silent; Relena silently worried for Heero and Heero regretted not following the example of the other pilots and allowing his life to settle down.

"It's never too late to change all that," Relena said after a while. Heero had no response. He dropped his arms from his legs and stretched them out in the sand. He turned towards her and with one hand, caught her chin. She stared back into his eyes.

"I think you're the only one I could ever make that change for," he said. Relena smiled and a blush crept it way into her cheeks. Unnoticed by the two, lightening flashed and thunder rumbled, much closer than it had before.

"Heero," she said. Heero pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to her own. Both allowed their eyes to close, lost in the sensation they hadn't experienced since the unexpected kiss they shared several years before. Relena lifted her hand and placed it on the back of his neck. Under his skin, she could feel his muscle relax. They pulled apart slowly and looked into each others' eyes. "You don't have to go away again, you know," Relena said.

"I know," he replied, pulling her towards him again for another kiss. Several rain drops splashed on their heads, arms and legs. They pulled away again and looked up at the skin. The dark clouds had covered the sky, blocking out the sun. The rain was beginning to fall. They could see it making tiny ripples in the waves. "We should get inside somewhere." Relena smiled and shook her head. She stood and held her hand to him. He took it and stood up with her.

"Have you never danced around in the rain, Heero?" she asked. Heero arched an eyebrow.

"No," he said. Relena held his hand up high and spun around in a circle. Heero couldn't help but laugh. The rain fell harder, making short work of their clothes until they were soaked to the skin. Heero put a hand on her waist, and they danced to the music in their heads, to the music of the rain falling around them. Heero pulled her close so he could feel the heat of her body. He took one edge of his coat and wrapped it around her, shielding her a little from the chill of the wind. Relena tucked her head under his chin. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked, seeming to rip open the fabric of the air around them. Relena wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him again, the rain falling and mingling with the tears on her cheeks, the ones she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"I really think we should get inside now, Relena," Heero said, speaking loudly over the rain. Relena nodded. Goosebumps covered her skin. Relena pointed to a place a little ways down the beach.

"My house is just there. Come on," she said. She grabbed his hand, and with part of Heero's coat still around her, they ran together through the sand and up the hill. They crossed the road and up the steps to the front door. Relena threw it open and they stumbled inside. She shut the door behind her. The house was quiet except for the rain hitting the windows.

Heero and Relena looked at each other and laughed. Both were soaked head to toe, and Relena had sand caked on her legs and skirt. Heero caught her in his arms again and pulled her to him.

"Please don't say that I ever have to let you go," he said.

"You never have to let me go, Heero Yuy," Relena said. Now that they were inside away from the cold wind, Relena could feel the desire for this man that she'd loved for years crawling over her skin. She could see in his eyes that he was feeling the same way. "We should get out of these clothes. Come on," she said. Heero pulled off his shoes and followed Relena through the house. He was hesitant to walk on her carpeted stairs, but she pulled him up behind her. Carpet could be cleaned, she had said.

Heero allowed himself to be guided into her bathroom. She shut the door and turned back to him. From deep within him, he could feel his desire for Relena rising. Desire was something Dr. J had always taught him to suppress. Getting lost in a woman would be bad for the mission. But here with Relena, the very person responsible for leading the world down the path for peace, Heero had no mission to fail. He knew what he was feeling was normal for humans, and to have Relena be the one he was feeling it for… that thought excited him more than anything else had in a while.

Relena wrapped her arms around him and he did the same. They kissed passionately, both allowing their emotions to take over. When Relena pulled away, she stepped to the shower and turned on the water so it was hot enough to steam up the bathroom. Relena slid her hands up Heero's shoulders and pushed off his long coat. It fell with a wet slop on the floor. Heero brought his hands to rest on her hips.

"Are you sure, Relena?" he asked. Relena nodded her head. She grabbed his shirt and untucked it from his jeans. She lifted the thing up over his head and dropped it on the floor. Heero lifted his hands to her blouse and began to unbutton it from the top down. When he freed the last one, he slowly pushed the wet fabric down her arms until it fell to the floor. His hand rested on her breast bone and slid down a little. His heart was pounding. Relena reached behind her and unclasped her bra and pushed it down off her arms. When Heero's hand came to rest on her breast, she could feel him trembling. Her assumption may have been correct: that he'd never been with a woman before. His hand felt hot against her skin.

Relena kissed him once again. She reached for his belt and pulled it free. With his help, they removed his jeans and tossed them away. She let her hands wander over his chest. She hesitated to call him perfect, but it sure seemed that way. Heero unzipped Relena's skirt and allowed it to fall to the ground. Tentatively, his hand hovered near her panties. "Don't be afraid," she said. Heero looked into her eyes as he slid a finger under the band and pulled them down. Relena helped push them the rest of the way down.

Standing before him, free of clothing, Heero marveled at her body. He hadn't allowed his thoughts to explore what she was under her clothes. The real thing was better than he ever could have imagined. "You're beautiful," he said. Relena smiled. She stepped close to him and pushed down on his boxers. They fell easily, and they were both naked, standing together, feeling the others' skin against their own. Relena's heart raced. She took his hand and pulled him behind the shower curtain.

Neither held back anything as they allowed their passion to overtake their minds and bodies. Surrounded by steam from the hot water, they explored a part of humanity that neither had experienced before. The hot water from the shower helped wash away the sand, the fears, hesitations and doubts within them both. With the release of desire, they collapsed against each other, panting, their skin covered in a mixture of sweat and steam.

The End-ish

\/-\/-\/

I thought it was really ironic that the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill song "Let's Make Love" came on my iTunes while I was writing that last part.

-Scarlet Eve


End file.
